i just bought a 2000 4runner 'highlander' 4x4 and it only took me a week so far to get over the stereo. i already have a deck picked out, the pioneer deh-8400, but i need a little help with the seperates. i keep finding conflicting info on the door speaker sizes, but i am wondering if they are 6.5" in front & 4" in the rear. i will not have the time to pull the panels to check for a while, and i want to order some speakers.

also, other than the backside of the rear seat or the rear cargo compartment, where have people mounted amps?

i would appreciate any info and if anyone has pics or a link to work they have done please send it to me.

thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I have my amps mounted under my front seats.

 

You can fit a 5 1/4 in the back doors. I asked a similar question awhile back, and got soe good feedback so I know that you should get some as well. I say use Crutchfeild for getting yur speakers, and head unit they gve you the mounting brackets if they are needed and harnesses. As for the amp loation, I don't hve one YET but I would definatly put it under my front seats lik CTB sugested, it's outof the way and not visabl unless your looking, unlke some of the other availble spots, the rear compartment is not a god option b/c it's small and can build up heat in there, or at least I have heard when asking about certain amps. I'm just waiting on the money. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

hehe, I''l post pics later tonight

 

Hey monkeynuts,

I just replaced the factory stereo in a '01 4Runner after about a year and a half, and man.... the difference is like night and day. =D

I bought a set of front component speakers, and didn't use the rears. A lot of people just use fronts for better imaging, it's really a matter of personal preference.

For me, I wanted a simple system and didn't want to occupy space with equipment, so I have a single 4-channel amp under the front driver's seat ( the front passenger seat has that damn rear heater fan in there--otherwise I'd maybe get another amp for something .

I painstakingly measured the max. dimensions under the front driver's seat before then bought an amp that would fit under there--this limits you somewhat, especially if you don't want the amp sticking into the passenger area--but you still have a lot of nice choices....

I put a piece of MDF wood under the carpet under the front driver's seat, then bolted the amp through the carpet into the wood.

So I power a set of front comps. and bridge channels 3&4 to the sub.

The front speaker size I believe is 6.5" 'oversized' which means 6.5, 6.75, 7.0 inches. I think more important is the speaker mounting DEPTH because behind the speaker magnet will be the track for the window.

I bought these speakers which were SUPPOSED to fit into the factory location, the depth was 'specified' to be 2.75" I think--but I ended up needing to use a 1/2" wood ring spacer in there--

and 2.75" may be the max. depth speaker you can use because even with that, I could slide say only 4 sheets of paper (to give a thickness estimate) in-between the magnet and the window track AND THEN, you have to consider the distance between the top of the speaker and the door panel (the speaker mounting height I believe), which, as Crutchfield says is 0.75" and I think that is correct b/c the 1/2" spacer I used + the 0.20" protrusion of my speaker just fit in there....

All that being said... a lot of people get "drop-in" speakers, especially the Boston Acoustics Pro 6.5"s which really just fit in there nicely with an included bracket. But if you have time to do a little work, you can get a better speaker for the same $ I think....

Hmm..some resources for the budget-minded:
www.knukonceptz.com for your wiring/amp installation needs
www.partsexpress.com for the same, fuses, terminals
Lowe's for MDF wood which they can cut roughly for you ( no circles though)
Lowe's for Peel & Seal for sound deadening


(p.s. sorry for the long reply, it's just I did a lot of research like you and it took me 1 1/2 months of weekend work in the frickin freezing cold to put the system together--and it was worth it

 

thanks 4FonZ and everyone else for your responses so far. this is some good info. i am unable to mount amps under the front seats because of the rear heater option my 4runner came with.

i can make a box for the back and make a rack for the amps, but i do not want to compromise the cargo space, mainly because i want to be able to lay the rear seat back and sleep back there when i'm camping out at glamis. so i cannot mount anything to the back of the seat.

here are the components that i think i will order, if i canfigure out a way to make it all work:

pioneer deck (loved my last one)
seperates
sub
amp for seperates
amp for sub
Q-Logic custom sub enclosure

if anyone has any opinions on the audiobahn line of speakers/amps, let me know. i've heard good things about them, but i have yet to get to a dealer and hear them for myself.

keep this info comin'!

Thanks!!!
stemplin@yahoo.com

 

no prob...

your driver's front seat has a fan in there, TOO?

Hrmm...mine didn't....

I used that q-logic subenclosure, too... it's not bad, not great, but not bad. It will rattle, but that can be fixed with either carpet padding or more screws.

Be advised that they say use the 2 screws to screw into the side rear cargo panel--you'll need maybe 2 more to secure it in there for sure.

You can get that from Sound Domain, and use their price match feature if you find it elsewhere, too.

 

Hey, if you would like, i can go take some pictures of my set up. It does consume a bit of sapce in the back, but you can easly scale it back a bit. I put boston accoustic speakers all the way around in mine. However, i am considering upgrading the components in the front to MB Quatz. In the back doors i had to make custom mounts out of MDF because the original bracket wasn't quite big enough and it was for 3 screw holes instead of 4. It is not hard to do. If you would like the best prices on any of the equipment, just let me know what you want. I own a small car audio company. I have a four channel alpine and a single channel alpine mounted on a rack in the back of my 4Runner. If you need any tips on installation, just let me know.

 

4FonZ: actually mine only has the fan under the passenger seat also. i've heard a lot about that qlogic enclosure rattling, but i figured i'd give it a try and maybe fix it with some dynamat or something...


DavidO06: that would be cool if i could see some pics of your setup, as long as it's not too much trouble.

thanks
scott

 

Oh, its no problem. I wanted to take some pictures of it anyway. I will try and do it tonight.

 

I have a rear heater, but was still able to install an amp underneath the seats.. I took that one out and replaced it with a larger one when I added an extra sub. I now have my amps mounted to the box that the subwoofers are in. I dont know if you want to add that much sound, but I have it where i can just disconnect the wires if i want to take the sub box out for using the entire back of the 4runner. You can then move the wires out of the way until you are ready to connect them again. Also another idea might be to mount the amp inside the rear panels. I would check with some audio professionals on this before doing it though, as an amp can get very hot, and needs ventilation to cool. I could take a picture of my setup if you would like.

 

This is just a quick box we threw together just to get the subs in the truck..the next design will be quite a bit better

 

...and here's the amps...just some oldies, but some very goodies for all of you old timers that remember them...monsters in they're day, and still very powerfull


Also, I was able to fit a amp under the driver seat, but not passenger, and I do have the rear heater.

 

When I built my system, I wanted to be able to get to the amps very easily in case I needed to adjust the pots on it.

The location I picked is very easy, and they get lots of air flowing over them.



Also with the window tint, you can't even see them there hardly, even in daylight.

http://www.pnw4runners.net/tando/stereo.htm

 

and my DEH-P9400mp CD/MP3 player

 

I am running 6.5" Diamond Audio separates in the front and 5.25" Diamond Audio coax speakers in the rear doors. I was able to fit both of my amps underneath the seats, but they aren't power seats.

Matt

 

i LOVE that cd player. I have the DEH-7200. Still saving up for the 9400

 

Heres my setup...
http://corpse-squadron.recongamer.com/david/pics.html

 

I dont remember the size of my speakers, I believe them to be 6.5 inch. They are MB Quarts.


http://jayman2.home.mindspring.com/M...ntOfBucket.jpg

I had to cut out the bucket to fit in the new speaker.
http://jayman2.home.mindspring.com/M...ckOfBucket.jpg

http://jayman2.home.mindspring.com/M...deOfBucket.jpg

This is the relocated window channel:
http://jayman2.home.mindspring.com/M.../Relocated.jpg

Here you will see the very slight V shaped cut out in the side of the original speaker opening in the door skin:
http://jayman2.home.mindspring.com/MBQuarts/CutOut.jpg

Jay

 

monkeynuts,
I am in the planning phase as well for my system. I too plan to put my amps under seat in an attempt to preserve cargo space...never know when it might come in handy! Also I haven't heard anything bad or good about Audiobahn components, but the subs are the s#!%. A local car audio shop installer told me that the amps are known to burn up after only a few months of intense use...now this I doubt. I mean you can burn up almost amp if it is not installed properly, so that claim will take a little more research.

You might want to check out
http://www.carreview.com/Car,Audio/PSC_3644crx.aspx
for some decent reviews on audio equipment.

Keep Us Posted,
Outkast`